The Open: John Daly calls for Turnberry rota reinstatement, hailing 'daddy Trump'

John Daly has called for Turnberry to be reinstated to the Open Championship rota, hailing the work of "daddy Trump" at the Ayrshire course.

President Donald Trump has been the owner at Turnberry, through his Trump Organization, since 2014, and the course has not staged The Open since that purchase.

A return to the rota appears highly unlikely while Trump continues to own the course, with R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers saying in January 2021: "We had no plans to stage any of our championships at Turnberry and will not do so in the foreseeable future.

"We will not return until we are convinced that the focus will be on the championship, the players and the course itself and we do not believe that is achievable in the current circumstances."

That statement came in the wake of the storming of the Capitol building in Washington by Trump supporters, after the one-term president claimed the 2020 election had been "stolen by emboldened radical-left Democrats" and by the "fake news media".

Daly, a friend and supporter of president Trump, said he would welcome Turnberry staging another Open. It has previously staged the tournament four times, in 1977, 1986, 1984 and 2009.

"These golf courses that we play and they've played the British Opens over all these years, it's kind of almost a home, especially with six or seven or eight of them in Scotland," Daly said.

"I know they don't want to go back, but it would be great to see Turnberry again on the rotation. What daddy Trump has done to that place, I heard is amazing."

The late Sir Bruce Forsyth and South African golf professional, Gary Player take part in the BBC Pro Celebrity Golf series at Turnberry #trumpturnberry pic.twitter.com/dtvvZODCPZ

— Trump Turnberry (@TrumpTurnberry) May 28, 2020

Daly was speaking on day one of The Open at St Andrews, where the 56-year-old began with a one-over-par 73.

He was Open champion at the Old Course in 1995, landing the second of his two major titles after a play-off win against Italian Constantino Rocca.

Turnberry last staged a major when the Women's British Open was contested at the course in 2015.

Royal Liverpool is due to stage the men's Open next year, followed in 2024 by Royal Troon and in 2025 by Royal Portrush.